Ole, ole, ole, ole....soccer or Futbol begins...once again

How quickly we (I) forget....now I remember saying to myself when Nathaniel's soccer days were over that I too was hanging up my soccer cleats. He was 11-12 years old at the time and wanted to concentrate more heavily on baseball and wrestling.  Now, I never played soccer competitively or recreationally so my knowledge and interest is not at the speed of other parents. Quite honestly, although it is always fun tp watch and root on your children's activities I was never a big fan of soccer.  Then again, I do not remember kids playing to much soccer when I was growing up in Arkansas.  We were mostly interested in baseball, football and basketball.  Now, let's fast forward to 2011.  How freaking cute is Zoe in her little soccer outfit. It brought me back to 2002 when my son Nathaniel was in his orange and black soccer outfit.  With his red hair, he looked like the "Great Pumpkin". How quickly you forget about those times....and how much Nathaniel enjoyed playing and waiting until after the game for his little juice box and snack.  Gosh, that was one of his big highlights for the week.He lived for the treats after the soccer match. Zoe shows that same excitement.

So, this week Zoe had her first practice and game. She picks up on things very quickly. Although she may not always understand what the coach and players are saying but she is keen in watching and trying to duplicate what others are doing.

Her team the Locusts had a match against the Dragonflies. Three v.s. three on a very small soccer field. I bet it looked very large to them though.  Zoe got to play quite a bit.  Not once did she try to pick up the ball.  She likes to run,but I am not sure she always knew why they were running during the soccer match.  There was one time when she went past the net and kept kicking the ball....who cares about that big old net anyways. Hey Zoe..the team needs the ball. It was too cute.  She did kick the ball several times but unfortunately she did not score a goal.  Although no one was keeping score...but her dad...the two teams tied at 3-3. I think the most important part of the day was that Zoe was having a great time and was enjoying being around other boys and girls her age.

As I mentioned earlier Zoe is also taking gymnastics classes.  Her mom bought her a new outfit which she wore for her second practice. She looks like a little princess, but do not let her fool you she can be a pistol when she wants to be.  She did very much like her new outfit, Sonja said she focused much of her attention on her hew outfit and was distracted during practice.  When she did focus, she loved doing somersaults.  Sonja said she was actually quite good at that. So Zoe had a great week...she is now participating in a number of activities and still makes time to watch Nick Jr. on cable.

Zoe in her new gymnastics outfit!

Zoe's new soccer team (Bellevue Soccer Club)

Zoe dribbling the ball between the cones

The two teams (Dragonflies/Locusts) congratulate each other after the soccer match

As for Nathaniel, he has now started Jazz band and his school marching band recently went to march and play at the Nebraska Applejack festival this weekend. This past Friday, he met up with a number of his football buddies and they got dressed up for their first homecoming dance. I asked him if he danced and he said, "naw, just hung with my friends" Finally, his baseball team was able to sneak in one game before the rains came. So, this was a fun week for Nathaniel as well.

Nathaniel before the homecoming dance!

Anyhow, all is good here. Sonja and I are still going over to my parents house and sorting items for donation, trash or garage sale. It is a slow process but we continue to make progress. That's it for now. Hope you all have a great week!!!

Well it's official

Sonja and I received an official document from the U.S. Government indicating Zoe is now officially a United States citizen.  How exciting is that! Much more exciting for Sonja and I as it makes no difference to Zoe today.  Woo hoo…

This is a big week for Zoe.  She went to her first gymnastics class at the Kids Body Shop in Papillion on Tuesday evening. They will be introducing back bends, the parallel bars and dismounts. I was completely surprised that they would introduce so much so early.  But what do I know.  Sonja said at first she was reluctant to participate but soon the instructors were able to get her out there.  Of course, the only issue is the language barrier and the instructors at times had difficulty getting her attention but for the most part she was active and appeared to have a great time. So, neither Sonja or I have any experience with gymnastic, so you may be wondering why we enrolled her.  Zoe is very energetic, high energy level and very flexible so we thought it would make sense to introduce her to gymnastics to see if she likes it. So, the jury is out and we will see if she likes the kids, instructors and the activity.  More to come.

Zoe's first day of gymnastics

Zoe on the parallel bars

Zoe having fun in the stands at a fall baseball game

Tomorrow, Zoe will begin practicing soccer with her new team…the Locusts! The Locusts…interesting team name…what happened to names like the force, the flames, intimidators, etc.  This past weekend I took Zoe to Dick’s sporting goods to pick up some cleats.  Black cleats with pink accents…I am just a little out of my comfort zone but I went with it and Zoe was so excited. In fact, when I told her to put her shoes on for school this morning she went to put on her cleats…Good news. She likes the shoes… I guess I am going to have to adjust…if Zoe shows an interest in soccer her older brother and her cousin Hallie who is quite the soccer player might be willing to teach her a thing or two since her mom and dad didn’t play soccer either. Also, maybe we can coax jack, her uncle to help coach her from time to time…   So, hopefully by getting her into a couple of different activities we will figure out which ones she likes and seems to gravitate towards. We will let you know how that goes.  Nathaniel has brought her outside to kick the ball and she still wants to pick it up and run with it….

As far as her language goes…she continues to make great strides.  Her English vocabulary continues to grow and her understanding of what others say completely amazes me.  She is quite astute and is a sponge. I am just amazed with her ability to learn.

I wanted to send out a note to Kathy & Dean Kampschneider for the presents she dropped off to Zoe last week.  Zoe loved them. Not only does she like opening up presents but she kept saying for Zoe, for Zoe. Thank you so much for thinking of her. The globe with the maze puzzle inside has been a particular favorite as I have seen Nathaniel and Sonja also playing with it on occassion.  Very cool gifts.

Finally, an update on Nathaniel.  He is still alive. For the past few weeks I have brought him to a large parking lot and let him drive my car.  Oh my….I guess I never realized how stressful that can be! However he is doing well even though his father is a complete wreck.  Another reason to appreciate your parents and their patience when they were teaching us. So that’s it for now. Thanks for dropping by!!!